religion, intellectual growth and reform in antebellum america · 2015. 10. 20. · significant...
TRANSCRIPT
Religion,
Intellectual Growth
and Reform in
Antebellum
America
http://www.learner.org/courses/amerhistory/units/8/video/
See first 23 minutes of video above for introduction to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t62fUZJvjOs&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtMwmepBjTSG593eG7ObzO7s&index=15
Crash Course US History – 19th Century Reforms (Episode 15)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM1czS_VYDI&index=16&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtMwmepBjTSG593eG7ObzO7s
Crash Course US History – Women in the 19th Century (Episode 16)
The religious revival known as “the 2nd Great
Awakening” beginning in the 1820’s 1840’s
sparks nationwide reform movements
The emotional
appeal of
new style
religious
leaders of the 2nd Great Awakening
connects
with the
“Common Man”
in the new
industrial age
Charles G. Finney and
other evangelical
Protestant ministers of 2nd
Great Awakening stress
“free will” & “good works”
in order to “perfect”
mankind on earth instead
of just hoping for
salvation that was
“predestined”.
They preach that people
are “moral free agents”
with “free will” to do
“good works” and spark a
“benevolent empire” of
new social reform
movements that aims at
“perfectionism” on earth.
Women play a greater roll
in these efforts to reform
& perfect their families
and society as a whole.
The New Religious Philosophy
of the 2nd Great Awakening
Outdoor evangelical “Camp Meetings” are
a popular new strategy aimed at the
“common man” who lived in rural areas
New Protestant
Denominations Grow
During the 2nd Great
Awakening
Ex: Unitarian,
Episcopalian &
Presbyterian Churches in
the North
Methodist & Baptist
Churches in the South
A famous example of the evangelical fervor of the
era was the so-called “Burned Over District”
Western NY (along the Erie Canal) that was
figuratively ablaze with revivalism
Each dot represents a
“camp” style revival meeting
during the 1830’s & 1840’s
What were some major Antebellum
Intellectual and Literary Developments?
Example: Lyceums
Example: Ralph Waldo Emerson & Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism was (and is) difficult to
categorize, as it could be viewed as a:
Spiritual movement
Philosophical movement &
Literary movement
Emerson himself provided a fairly open definition in
his 1842 essay “The Transcendentalist”:
The Transcendentalist adopts the whole connection
of spiritual doctrine. He believes in miracle, in the
perpetual openness of the human mind to new influx
of light and power; he believes in inspiration, and in
ecstasy. He wishes that the spiritual principle should
be suffered to demonstrate itself to the end, in all
possible applications to the state of man, without the
admission of anything unspiritual; that is, anything
positive, dogmatic, personal. Thus, the spiritual
measure of inspiration is the depth of the thought,
and never, who said it? And so he resists all
attempts to mimic other rules and measures on the
spirit than its own.
Example:
Henry David
Thoreau &
Walden -
A reaction to
industrialization
Another Definition of Transcendentalism: A 19th-century idealistic, philosophical and social
movement stressing that divinity pervades all nature.
Transcendentalists believed key to happiness was for
people to follow their own individual, intuitive beliefs
above scientific and empirical evidence.
In this way, individuals can “transcend” authority and
tradition to find their own truth by examining nature and
the human spirit
Example: Walt Whitman – Non Conformist,
transcendentalist inspired poet
A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more
than the metaphysics of books.
Be curious, not judgmental.
Do I contradict myself? Very
well, then I contradict myself, I
am large, I contain multitudes.
Freedom means to walk independently
and know no superior.
I say to mankind, be not curious about
God. For I, who am curious about
each, am not curious about God - I
hear and behold God in every object,
yet understand God not in the least.
Other major antebellum American literary figures
including Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville
were split on support of transcendentalism
Antebellum Religious Evangelism &
Intellectualism Spawns New Social Activism
Example: the “Benevolent Empire”
Ex: Temperance Movement
Institutional Reform (Schools, Prisons & Hospitals)
Ex: Dorothea Dix and Insane Asylums
Women reformers realize that to change
society in a great way, they need to
vote…leading to the Suffrage MovementExample: Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B.
Anthony at Seneca Falls Convention - 1848
However, the anti-slavery movement
(Abolitionism) becomes the most
widespread reform effort of the
antebellum periodAbolitionists were very diverse in motivations & goals
Examples:
American Colonization Society (Conservative)
Gradualists (Moderate)
Immediate Abolition & Social Equality for Africa-Americans (Radicals)
All oppose slavery, but solutions differed greatly
Frederick Douglass William Lloyd Garrison
Most well known “Radical” Abolitionists:
Abolitionist
Strategies
Include:
Appeal To
Public
Opinion
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Political Pressure
Help slaves escapeExaple : Underground Railroad
Map 12.3 The Underground Railroad in the 1850s (p. 356)
Violent Uprising Example: Turner’s Rebellion - 1831
Stronger Abolition Movement
Triggers Even Stronger Defense of SlaveryHistorical, Economic, Religious, Social & Racial arguments
from those who saw the “peculiar institution” not as a
“necessary evil”, but a “positive good”
Example:
John C. Calhoun
of South Carolina
becomes the
major
antebellum voice
in Congress for
slavery
& states rights
Religious Revivalism and a backlash
against industrialization spark the
creation of many unique American
utopian communities that separate from
society instead of trying to reform it.
Examples•Mormons
• Shakers
• Oneida
• Brook Farm
Map 12.2 The Mormon Trek, 1830-1848 (p. 350)
Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and Mormon Exodus to Utah
Short Lived Transcendentalist
Brook Farm Community in Mass.
“Simplistic”
Religious
Utopian
Community
The Shakers
John Humphry Noyes and the Oneida
“Free Love” Community in upstate NY
Chapter 11 HW: Antebellum Social & Intellectual Reformers Lyceum ActivityStarting on Friday this week we will simulate a lyceum in class. This activity will mimic the “teach-in” style
events popular in many parts of the United States during the later antebellum period. Before TV or the internet,
lyceums were a way for average citizens to learn about new ideas by listening to traveling lecturers who gave
talks and answered questions on various subjects. The format for the lyceum activity in our class will be
similar to that of a modern talk show. You will come up with questions and answers in the voice of a
significant intellectual or reformers from the antebellum period. You need to blend information from both
primary & secondary sources in your lyceum questions & answers.
Homework Assignment - DUE Friday 10/23
Read the primary source document posted on RHS website you are assigned, Chapter 11 and relevant
websites.
Write thought provoking questions for your reformer on their: Background (Context), Motivation (Point
of View), Goals (Purpose) and Actions (Audience). Your questions should help listeners understand the
reformers beliefs and impacts on American society during the 19th Century and beyond.
Write answers to the questions you create (a thoughtful paragraph each) in the first person. Include some
direct quotes from the primary source reading as well as appropriate outside information in your answers.
Historical Figure Reform or Intellectual Movement Primary SourceReading
Henry David Thoreau Transcendentalism Walden
Shakers Utopian Religious Community War & Peace – A Shaker Viewpoint
Frederick Douglass Abolitionism The Meaning of July 4th for the Negro
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Women’s Rights Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions
Dorothea Dix Institutional Reform Report to the Massachusetts Legislature
Dorthea Dix
Background (Context)
Motivation (Point of View)
Goals (Purpose)
Actions (Audience)
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Background (Context)
Motivation (Point of View)
Goals (Purpose)
Actions (Audience)
Henry David Thoreau
Background (Context)
Motivation (Point of View)
Goals (Purpose)
Actions (Audience)
Frederick Douglass
Background (Context)
Motivation (Point of View)
Goals (Purpose)
Actions (Audience)
Shaker Community MemberBackground (Context) Motivation (Point of View)
Goals (Purpose) Actions (Audience)